You Disarm Me
by Pepper Lane
Summary: A very sweet, slightly AU story of how James Potter managed to charmingly win over Lily Evans after she was painfully pushed away by Severus Snape; rated for mild, brief language.
1. Chapter 1

The story of how James Potter managed to win over Lily Evans after she was painfully pushed away by Severus Snape.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters or…anything. J.K. Rowling does._

…………

"Evans, wait! I let Snivelly down, come on…." Lily remained deaf to James' entreaties and pumped her legs even faster. That arrogant Potter boy might be quick on a broom, but on the ground she could outrun him any day of the week.

Auburn hair flying behind her wildly, Lily fled from the two people who, at that moment, she despised most in the world. She did not check her speed until she got to the bank of the lake, where James Potter and Severus Snape were no more than silhouettes on the hill she had left behind.

Looking back, she bit her lip angrily to see James' face still turned to her hopefully. She turned her back and stomped away further along the shore, only to catch her foot in the crevice of a rock.

A gasp of pain escaped her as she hit the pebbles, closely followed by a wave of furious embarrassment. The _Potter boy_ had almost certainly seen her fall flat on her face, and Lily's jaw clenched in anger to think how he and his stupid friends were probably laughing at her right now. Then a worse thought hit her: what if one of them got heroic and tried to _help_ her?!

_No freaking way. That is not happening._ She started to struggle to her feet, and almost immediately fell back down as an arrow of pain shot through her ankle. _No!! Not my ankle! What's that healing spell we learned a few weeks ago?_

Her memory struggled for a moment, while her alarmed ears picked up the sounds of someone coming towards her._ But that spell was for broken bones, and this feels like a sprain. _

"Dammit!" she cursed aloud to herself and yanked out her wand, though there was nothing she could do with footsteps sounded closer, and now she realized there were two sets of them. Preparing for a reluctant defeat, she hoisted herself, wincing and still gripping her wand, into a sitting position and whipped her head around to see the intruders.

"Geez, Evans, what did you do to yourself?"

Lily grimaced to see exactly who she had expected and yet had hoped it would not be. "What do you want?" she snapped, her sharp eyes flashing, as James knelt down beside her. Sirius stood next to him, concerned but attempting to look indifferent, like the absurd teenage boy that he was.

"What do I want?" James grinned. "I don't think you really want me to answer that, Evans."

Lily rolled her eyes and said nothing.

"Besides, the question is what do you need? The answer: you need a lift back to the castle."

"I don't need anything from you, Potter," Lily muttered, shoving her wand back in her pocket and trying mightily to stand.

She could not forgive so quickly the boy who humiliated and hurt her oldest friend. _Even though that friend rejected you when you defended him._ For a moment, Lily ceased her attempts to get up and allowed her heart to absorb the sting of that all-too-recent memory. Her eyes aching with tears unshed, Severus' words came rebounding back to her in a flash: _"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"_

Those words sunk in deep, and Lily felt them making a permanent scar on her insides. Slowly, the thought engrained itself in her mind: Severus hated her, James liked her and was offering her a kindness. She knew refusing his offer would be foolish and simply a result of her pride._ Gawd, I'm getting as proud as Potter himself._ As Lily sat there on pebbles, her ankle screaming in pain, she looked into James' earnest-for-once hazel eyes and made her choice.

_Please review; tell me what you think._


	2. Chapter 2

The story of how James Potter managed to win over Lily Evans after she was painfully pushed away by Severus Snape.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters or…anything. J.K. Rowling does._

…………

"All right," she sighed. James' eyebrows lifted slightly, surprised at her sudden surrender, then smiled and glanced up at Sirius with an I-told-you-so kind of look. Lily caught the look between them and cleared her throat with pursed lips. James smiled even broader but complied.

"Right. Sirius, could you go to the castle and fetch that new nurse… what's her name…Madame Pomfrey?"

"Sure thing, mate," Sirius was off running in an instant.

"Let's hook your arm over my shoulders," James suggested when Sirius was gone. Lily gave him a slightly suspicious look, but James only grinned and said, "Either that or I carry you."

"No thanks," she said quickly. She may have decided to accept Potter's kindness, but that didn't mean she was going to let him embarrass her like _that_. She put her arm over his shoulders and began slowly limping back to the school. _I could curse myself for getting injured so far away from the castle._

After a while, she began to pant heavily; it was difficult to hop along on one leg, even with James' strong shoulders to lean on. It was not long before he asked, with his voice surprisingly softened with compassion,

"Need to rest, Evans?"

_Huh. Potter isn't as self-centered as he appears._ "Just for a bit," Lily panted, lowering herself down on the grass. James sat beside her, and for a minute they just sat, staring quietly at the lake. The sun was descending behind it, setting the water's surface wonderously aflame with color.

Suddenly James spoke. "Lily." _He's never called me Lily before. It's always Evans._ She said nothing, gluing her eyes to the sunset. His warm hand was suddenly touching hers, and Lily realized that she was alone with James Potter, watching the sunset. _What's taking Sirius so long?_ But then Lily also realized that she barely minded. Was it possible she was even forming an…attachment? _To this conceited, infuriating boy?_ she thought. Her heart sped up a little._ Yes… and perhaps all the more for him being so._

Lily felt her own hand respond to James' touch, and in a moment his hand was holding hers tenderly. For a while they just sat there, holding hands. When the sun was dipping sharply into the horizon, Lily released a sigh. "We should probably go back to the castle now." She was then very abruptly aware that James was looking at her intensely.

"Lily," he said again. As she looked back at him, her breath snagged for a moment as she took in his dark, wind-ruffled hair and his warm eyes set into his handsome, sharply angled features, all dangerously close to her own face.

"Yes?"

"I just like to say your name. It's beautiful."

Lily's face grew warm. "Thank—"

Her words were suddenly interrupted as James pressed his lips gently, insistently, to hers. In her surprise, her hand loosened its grip on his, at which he took the opportunity to reach up and hold the back of her neck, softly and firmly. The sunlight vanished below the horizon, but Lily could still feel it, warm and golden, filling up her insides.

The sound of running steps finally distracted them, and when their lips broke apart, Lily looked at James in wonder and surprise. _Did he just…_

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly. "I'm sorry. You looked so… I just thought…"

Sirius ran up panting, followed several yards behind by Madame Pomfrey. "Hey, what took you so long getting back to the castle?" Sirius asked, as if he knew exactly what took so long.

"Uh… Lily—er, Evans—felt tired, so we decided to stop." James offered truthfully but unconvincingly.

"Oh, I see. _Lily_, huh?" Sirius teased, as Madame Pomfrey ran up puffing, her youthful brown hair flying from under her cap.

"Mr. Black tells me you took quite a fall, Miss Evans. Let's see that ankle." Only now did Lily feel the pain in that treacherous joint once more. She bit down on her lip as Madame Pomfrey examined the now badly-swollen ankle in her professional manner.

After a minute she muttered something and flicked her wand at the ankle, at which the swelling vanished almost immediately, and Lily was relieved to find that the pain was gone. Pomfrey gave her a satisfied smile.

"There you are now. Good as new. Hop along, now, all of you. It's getting near dinnertime."

"Thanks, Madame Pomfrey, it's much better," Lily said gratefully as she stood, stumbling slightly; James' strong arms caught her before she fell.

"Whoa, Evans, you don't want to hurt yourself all over again." The magic moment was gone, and the arrogant smirk was back in his voice.

"Worry yourself not, _Potter_, I won't," Lily responded coolly, her leaf-green eyes flaring up and contradicting her coolness as she spun to face the insolent boy. Instead of arrogance or even hurt, she found in his eyes some unfathomable emotion, strong and turbulent, which left his brows furrowed and his lips slightly parted in… was it… _uncertainty_? This unexpected reaction put her off guard, and she let the second half of her retort die on her lips.

_Please review!!! And tell me what you think._


	3. Chapter 3

The story of how James Potter managed to win over Lily Evans after she was painfully pushed away by Severus Snape.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters or…anything. J.K. Rowling does._

…………

Madame Pomfrey gave them a small, amused smile and turned back to the castle. Sirius also decided to take his leave at this point, saying, "I'll leave you two lovers to work things out. I wonder where Remus has got to…"

With a knowing grin, he strolled off. Lily's face reddened slightly at the remark and she looked away. They were both silent for a moment.

"We ought to be going back now; it's getting dark," Lily finally said quietly.

"All right, let's go," he shrugged.

For a while, the two trudged along in silence, each caught up in thoughts of each other. Lily couldn't help thinking about that kiss; it was so gentle and sweet, so unlike James Potter.

_I just don't get him. Of course he's a self-centered, arrogant prat, but why would he… Perhaps that conceited confidence just a mask for the world? He must think he has something to prove, but what exactly? And why?_ she wondered. _There isn't a real reason, Lily_, she told herself. _He's just a teenage boy, that's all_. But her mind couldn't just take that as an answer. She needed to ask James what exactly he meant by all of this, and what he felt about her. She just had to know.

At length they reached the entrance of one of the outdoor hallways, and Lily stopped just before it.

"James?"

He turned to face her. "Yes?"

She looked at his face in great contemplation. But what came out her mouth was not really what she had intended.

"Why did you kiss me?"

A small, confident smile sprouted on his face. "It seemed like a good idea."

Lily's eyes hardened bitterly. "Is that all?"

The smile evaporated, and his hazel eyes became embarrassedly earnest.

"I don't know, Lily, I just…" He stepped closer, his rough, handsome face only inches from hers. Lily faltered slightly, but stood her ground.

"…I think…I'm in love with you."

Her mind spun for a second, trying to comprehend what James said. _I think I'm in love with you…_She felt as if she had been hit with a Bludger. Or a Stunning Spell. Or both. She knew Potter liked her, but had always been sure that his feelings could be no deeper than a rain puddle, if even that. Why was he professing them to be so profound?

Then immediately the thought occurred to her: _He could be just saying that to achieve my affection._ Yet even as the cynical, suspicious thought passed through her mind, she knew it to be wrong. There were loads of girls prettier than she was, and many that played the hard-to-get card, too. Yet he had picked her, pursued her, all the five years they had been going to Hogwarts, despite her constant prickliness towards him. Why? There was only one answer she could think of, and Potter had just said it.

"Do you really love me?" Her expression was heavily guarded with doubt and caution, but underneath it was a slight glimmer of hope.

James looked and sounded painfully vulnerable. "I do so much, Lily, I…" His hand went up to touch her cheek. "Maybe you think I'm an arrogant bastard, but just understand…" There was a slight falter in his confident voice that bespoke truthfulness. "…being around you kills every bit of nerve and confidence I have. I _need_ to act better and tougher because…" He gulped. "…you disarm me."

Lily could barely believe her ears. The ever-proud, devil-may-care James Potter was disarmed by _her_? She searched his features hard, looking for any possible sign of falsehood or insincerity. She found none. What she did find was the look of a boy who was risking his dearly-held pride and knew it, all for the sake of winning the heart of the girl he loved. Lily saw courage and honesty and love in the face of James Potter, and at that moment, she realized that she loved him back.

A soft tear rolled down Lily's cheek, and she threw her arms around the astonished but elated James, feeling as if she never wanted to let go of him. Her voice choked as she let out the words.

"I do too."

"What??"

"I love you too."

At those four words, uncontainable, exultant joy leapt into his face, and with blissful certainty, James placed his lips on hers. The kiss they shared was long and deep, the kind of kiss Lily knew they had always been meant for.

…………

From a distant hill, a lone black figure that had stood there, watching from the beginning, turned away from the sight of the happy couple. Though he hated to admit it to himself, he knew he had forfeited his chance with Lily.

Severus Snape knew he had lost her to James Potter forever.

_Please review, yes? Tell me your thoughts on this…_


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